The Grey Cup is taking place today, which is why the Wings-Canucks matinee is the only NHL game on the schedule, and the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons spends the vast majority of his Sunday notebook discussing the match-up between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Calgary Stampeders (airing at 6 PM EST on TSN), but he spends one meaty paragraph discussing all things NHL-related:

I wonder if Bob McCown read his own book. In the bestselling 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments, McCown makes a case against Paul Henderson’s inclusion in the Hockey Hall of Fame. A strong case. Lately, he has been pushing the Henderson Hall of Fame agenda. Strange ... On Saturday afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks were tied for the most points in the NHL and that has to be wrong, doesn’t it? ... The first quarter MVP in the NHL: Pekka Rinne ...

How are the Edmonton Oilers reacting to their poor goaltending to start the season?

Bob McKenzie: Devan Dubnyk's sub-par performance on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs does not have Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish pushing the panic button, but it does have him reaching for the telephone.

As early as Sunday, MacTavish has been working the phones and working them hard to determine the market for goaltenders. They are looking at every possibility, from Anaheim's Jonas Hiller to Buffalo's Ryan Miller to Brian Elliott in St. Louis to Michal Neuvirth in Washington and beyond.

However, as Tkachuk’s opportunities get fewer, he is beginning to appreciate the career accomplishments that are coming his way. One of the most significant will come tonight when he plays Game No. 1,000 in the NHL….

“When we came in, nobody thinks they’re going to be in the league that long ... it’s an amazing accomplishment,” Weight said. “But you know ‘Walt’ ... he’s too cool for school. You know, he’ll say, ‘Ah, it’s not that big of a deal.’ But deep down, Walt knows it’s a great accomplishment and he’s excited.”

There will be 18,690 waiting in HSBC Arena. The Buffalo Sabres host St. Louis tonight, and it’s a long-awaited outing for McKee and Blues teammate Lee Stempniak. McKee hasn’t played in Buffalo since Game Six of the 2006 Eastern Conference finals, while West Seneca’s Stempniak has never played professionally in his hometown.

“It’s special,” McKee said Tuesday. “I was very fortunate to grow not only as a player but as a person here in this town. To come back and play here is going to be a pretty neat feeling. The fans were great, stuck behind me over the 10 years I was here, and that doesn’t always happen with players. I felt very fortunate for that.”

“We had a brief talk and he expressed to me that he was happy with most of my play, he just wanted me to work on puck-handling skills,” said McKee, who watched his last game on video to look for problems. “I was surprised, I’ll say that. I didn’t think my play warranted being pulled from the lineup. It’s his decision to make and that’s what he did.”

Murray realizes tough decisions come with the territory.

“There’s some certain areas where we’ve asked him to address his game,” Murray said. “He’s such a proud guy and a professional, and he will do that.”

The St. Louis Blues and Peoria Rivermen prospect is not among the Russian players who in the past have left North America - or refused to come at all - once an NHL roster spot was not guaranteed….

“If I wanted to earn money, if that was my goal, I would stay home in the Super League,” Lemtyugov said. “I came over here to play at the world’s best level. I will work in the AHL, wait for my chance, earn it.”...

“If it’s clear I can’t play at the NHL level, I’ll go back home,” Lemtyugov said. “But finding that out could take two or three years. The AHL is the third-best league in the world (behind the NHL and Russian Super League). I understand it’s part of the process in getting to the NHL.

...So, no, Murray doesn’t sound eager to return Perron to junior hockey for the rest of the season.

“We don’t want to say anything until his nine-game trial is up,” Murray said. “We want to keep him on edge.”

To evolve into a Stanley Cup contender, the Blues must integrate fresh talent into their mix during the next few seasons. They must benefit from added skill, fresher legs and increased competition at all their positions.

As (Andy) Murray said, “I thought there was parity there last year, too, between Chicago, Columbus and St. Louis. The only difference is that the parity is at a higher level.”

The three teams were a collective 79-77-21 after their coaching changes last season. They are 15-11-1 this morning. The Central Division is no longer comprised of Detroit, Nashville, Curly, Larry and Moe. The Stooges are gone.

As Hitchcock said, “Somebody has to make the playoffs other than Detroit. Whether you get a second- or a third-place team in the playoffs, it’s going to be somebody.

Rookie defenseman Erik Johnson will miss the Blues’ home opener tonight with a hairline fracture in his right foot.

Johnson, 19, suffered the injury in the season opener at Phoenix on Oct. 4. An X-ray taken after the game did not reveal the fracture. He played in the Blues’ second game two nights later at Los Angeles and scored the game-winning goal.

“I took a (shot) off the foot in the Phoenix game, and didn’t really notice any pain in the Los Angeles game or any practices until yesterday,” Johnson said this morning.

When Paul Kariya signed with the Predators two summers ago, general manager David Poile called it a groundbreaking moment for the franchise. Sure enough, Kariya boosted the team’s ticket sales, led the Predators twice in a row in scoring and helped guide Nashville to two straight regular seasons of more than 100 points.

But largely because of the uncertainty involving the Predators ownership situation, Kariya has taken his talents a few hours away, where he’s already made an impact on a St. Louis organization seeking to regain respectability on the ice and in the community.

On Monday, two days after leaving in the second period of a 5-3 Blues win over Los Angeles with a “tweaked” right knee, Legace was reassessing his proclamation. He was back at practice bending and scooting with ease and said he will start in the Blues’ home opener against Nashville on Wednesday night. But as far as playing 70 games this season, probably not.

“Sixty would be good ... that would be a good mark, not to push it,” said Legace, 34. “We’ll see how it goes. I’m just going to take all the precautions in the world.”

Actress Jenny McCarthy’s younger sister Amy McCarthy has become engaged to NHL hockey player Dan Hinote. Amy, who was once name “cyber girl of the month” by Playboy, will wed Hinote next year in Colorado.

The couple lives in St. Louis as that is who Hinote is currently playing for. Amy works at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Tkachuk was ecstatic when the Kariya deal fell in place July 1. In six seasons with the Blues, he has had only Pavol Demitra and Bill Guerin as scoring threats on his line.

“All I’ve got to do is get (Kariya) the puck and he’ll make me a better player,” Tkachuk said. “I compare him to a Pavol Demitra ... a give-and-go kind of style, which I like. He’s got unbelievable speed, unbelievable hands. Doing those 2-on-1s, he’s always moving. He’ll definitely help me.”

Kariya, who has one goal and four assists in the preseason, said the duo is developing chemistry “right away. Keith is an unbelievable hockey player. He does so many things well. He loves to play that give-and-go style of game, and that’s a game I love to play, too, so I think it’s going to be pretty quick in terms of the chemistry.”